Burma journalist gets jail time for trespassing

YANGON, Burma (AP) — A Burma court has sentenced a journalist to one year in prison for trespassing and obstructing a civil servant after he interviewed students and shot video inside a government office for a story about a Japanese-funded scholarship program.

He says Zaw also got into an argument with an official inside the education department in Magwe region and was charged with obstructing a civil servant from carrying out his duties.

A nominally civilian government installed in 2011 has implemented sweeping reforms, including freeing up the country’s repressive press. But media watchdogs say reporters still face intimidation, arrests and criminal charges, and that the media climate appears to be worsening.